Aging is a strangely controversial topic, given its ubiquity (and, unfortunately, its inevitability). Whether due to the pressure of societal beauty standards or a deeper fear of change and death, conversations around age — fighting it, embracing it, ignoring it — always resonate powerfully. The latest chapter in the debate has been sparked by TikTok’s “aging” filter, which uses artificial intelligence to speed up the age of your face by decades. It’s mesmerizing, it’s disturbing, (in a sense) it’s natural – none of us can look away.
Kylie Jenner offered her opinion — “I don’t like this,” she repeated — and so did Kim Kardashian, who brought North into the picture to give mom and me a glimpse into the future. (I’m sorry to tell you that North isn’t aging at all: it looks like this filter is for those of us who’ve started to fret.) Dr. Whitney Bowe points out that lighting can affect how prominent the filter’s effect is, causing some faces to look more noticeably aged than others. “As a cosmetic injector, I use different angles of light in my office to look at the patient’s skin so that my injection points are more focused and impactful,” said Bao, who shared an explanation on TikTok. “For example, I often have patients sit up while injecting fillers, and I use overhead lighting to accentuate the shadows, which helps guide my needle to where the patient would benefit most from it.”
“The ‘aging’ filter raises awareness of all the possible changes that can happen to our skin, teeth, and hair over time, so in that sense it’s positive, but it doesn’t take into account our skin color, genetics, and lifestyle, so it’s not a definitive look into the future.”, Skin Refinery says Joyce Park, MD, dermatologist and founder of Tea with MD. Park is also keeping up with the TikTok trend, using filters as a tool to show how her own (and your) face changes with the realities of time and gravity—fine lines, bags under the eyes, and more pronounced nasolabial folds are among the most recognizable changes. “A lot of people start worrying about aging after using this filter, but we still have many ways to intervene in aging in healthy ways,” Parker said.
Over the past few years, the beauty world has become less and less afraid to confront the realities of aging. The pandemic and the lack of salon visits it brought brought about a gray hair rejuvenation, while filler fatigue has many celebrities dissolving facial additives in favor of procedures that deliver truer, healthier results. For skincare experts, the “aging” filter is just a reminder of an obvious truth: We should all take the time to care for and protect our skin. “The best skincare advice I can give is to protect the skin from the sun, which helps prevent photoaging in the form of wrinkles, texture changes, dark spots, and the development of skin cancer,” Park says. She also lists basic steps like eating a balanced diet rich in antioxidants, exercising regularly, limiting smoking and alcohol, and getting enough sleep each night. “Practicing good skincare routines, such as nightly cleansing or using active ingredients like retinoids or vitamin C, can also help.”
